Difference between the same blades

[Paweł Banasik]

Hello. When I started playing TT and looking for the blade that would suit me I was surprised by the fact that the same blades can different so much. For example I had one TB ZLF loved the way ball contacted the blade and bought another TB ZLF and it was compete disaster..I don't know how to call it in English but some blades have like a blank/empty/dull bounce of the ball and other blades even the same type a sharp very direct contact with the ball. .. I have the same issue with two Acoustic blades..one sharp..other little dull of course with the same rubbers.. I know every piece of wood is different but they seem like totally different blades. .

 

[LordPippington]

At the very least, try to get blades that are weighted the same. Some can be over 10 gram in difference.

 

[Tom]

Yes sometimes this can be the case with the same blade and they feel quite different, as Lord pippington said above its good to get the same weight because there can be fairly big differences between each one. Also once you play with a blade for a while the characteristics will change slightly as the wood softens up from hitting a lot of balls and sweat from your hand etc. For example the longer you use a blade the more different a brand new one will feel when you change. But yes it can be frustrating for sure!

 

[Paweł Banasik]

Is there any way you can check if it will have more sharp/direct bounce...contact with the ball..without gluing rubbers? I really hate when the contact is muted..maybe that's the case with blades which are lighter than they should be? E.g. if the blade should be 85g and it waights 80g...than the hit of the ball is muted?

 

[Airoc]

Is there any way you can check if it will have more sharp/direct bounce...contact with the ball..without gluing rubbers? I really hate when the contact is muted..maybe that's the case with blades which are lighter than they should be? E.g. if the blade should be 85g and it waights 80g...than the hit of the ball is muted?

5 gram normally don´t make the difference between a good and a bad blade. The weight difference will change the way they play as regards speed and vigour, but not between "sharp" and "dull".

Manufacturing of a natural product is not as easy as it seems, and surely some people are able to tell the difference between a good and a not so good blade by knocking on its surface and listening to the sound.

But when a (usually good) blade feels really crappy often the glueing of the rubbers is more of a problem than differences in manufacturing. If you can count that out, you have come across two bad examples of blades that normally have a high quality.

 

[PolishTT17]

We have to account that every blade is a natural product out of wood. Every tree is different so there can be some differences. Once I was looking for a blade and like mentioned before there were differences from 5-14(!!!) grams. And I only checked 5 blades I took the two that were closest to each other and they play the same as I can say that!

 

[jamesmith]

no tree and no wood can be the same , also the period of the product can be different

 

[Paweł Banasik]

So it's hard to say if the blade will have a dull or sharp bounce before gluing rubbers on it?

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

5 gram normally don´t make the difference between a good and a bad blade. The weight difference will change the way they play as regards speed and vigour, but not between "sharp" and "dull".

This isn't exactly right. 5 grams won't make as much of a difference as 8 grams. But it will make a difference. And a blade that is lighter will usually feel a little more dull, less crisp.

Sometimes the weight issue is what is going on.

But, as Airoc said, it really could also be that the rubber was not glued on well.


Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

 

[Paweł Banasik]

I'll try to reglue the rubbers and check if the blade feels more sharp contacting the ball..

 

[Airoc]

I'll try to reglue the rubbers and check if the blade feels more sharp contacting the ball..

It just happened (again) to me. I put rubbers on a blade Wednesday and against my expectations the feeling wasn´t right. Slower and much less "alive" than expected. So I re-glued and it kinda worked wonders.

I hope it works for you too.

 

[Paweł Banasik]

Wow. So you say that on the same blade after regluing the feeling was much better? Did you change somehow the way you glued this time? I mean more layers or something like that

 

[Airoc]

Wow. So you say that on the same blade after regluing the feeling was much better? Did you change somehow the way you glued this time? I mean more layers or something like that

By hindsight, not enough glue first time round - my friend who is the godfather of glueing tells me I am using too much mostly, so I try to behave. But I am better off using a little too much, otherwise I´ll use too little ...

If the rubber doesn´t stick perfectly in all places the feeling will be really bad.

This can also happen if the glue hasn´t dried through enough, if you glue in high humidity, if you use (way) too much glue, etc.

Also, new rubbers with porous sponges can use more layers when first glued.

If something feels unexpectedly bad, I re-glue the rubbers. In most cases it helps.

And I can only think of how many blades I re-sold very quickly before I realized the importance of the glue job, thinking "well I know these rubbers so if the racket feels like crap it must be the blade ..."

 

[tropical]

Try the peak sound (frequency) method that someone here talked about not long ago. If the frequencies are close then they are supposed to play and feel the same.

 

[langel]

Well, it could be a metter of glue work, or of weight. Usual produce deviations should not be so rude as described.
It also metters if every different layer veneer is jointed ot jointless and how the joints are distributed through the layers.
Combining all factors we may get a really big difference comparing two blades of a same model.
But its really a metter of /bad/ chance. If we experiance it twice or more, I would prefer to think that the problem is most probably not in the blade but elsewhere - glue work, bad keeping /moisture, destruction/, or even fake blade/rubbers.

 

[Paweł Banasik]

Today I talked about this with a professional player and an owner of a TT shop and he told me that if you are an experienced player you can knock on the blade and check if the product will have a sharp/good feeling without gluing rubbers . ...if you are a really experienced at this. .and had a chance to deal with many blades like the people who work in TT shops for many years..

 

[Airoc]

Today I talked about this with a professional player and an owner of a TT shop and he told me that if you are an experienced player you can knock on the blade and check if the product will have a sharp/good feeling without gluing rubbers . ...if you are a really experienced at this. .and had a chance to deal with many blades like the people who work in TT shops for many years..

This is true. But it might not help with your current problem, unless you´ll get the guy to check your blades for you.

 

[Paweł Banasik]

He also said that he doesn't like too light blades. .that it's always better to choose the one which is heavier. .

 

[Airoc]

He also said that he doesn't like too light blades. .that it's always better to choose the one which is heavier. .

In many cases pro and other above average players prefer heavier blades as they allow for better vigour. Not too heavy, though, since most modern rubbers tend to be heavier too. You will find preferences around 90 grams for offensive blades normal.

Defensive players often can go for even heavier blades with bigger heads as they often play pips on one side.

In any case, it´s a thing of personal taste. Do you like it head-heavy or not, how does the blade feel in your hand - little things that can make a huge difference.

If you have a head-heavy 90 gram blade it can strain your muscles much more than a 100 gram well-balanced blade, which is why I often do not understand the quest for a light blade when people have experienced problems.